Center City was platted in 1857, and named from its location near the geographic center. A post office was established as Centre City in 1858, and the name was changed to Center City in 1893.
As of the census of 2010, there were 628 people, 247 households, and 175 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 291 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 97.8% White, 0.5% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population. There were 247 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couplesliving together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.1% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age in the city was 44.7 years. 19.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 31.4% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 582 people, 194 households, and 148 families living in the city. The population density was 1,240.8 people per square mile. There were 214 housing units at an average density of 456.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96.91% White, 0.69% African American, 2.06% Native American, 0.17% Asian, and 0.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population. There were 194 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $48,594, and the median income for a family was $51,875. Males had a median income of $39,205 versus $30,156 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,774. About 0.7% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The Hazelden drug and alcohol treatment center is located in Center City.